|
National Union applies to intervene in Supreme Court case
Challenging Bill 29, the anti-worker
B.C. law condemned by UN labour
body
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has applied
to intervene in the Supreme Court of Canada case on Bill 29, (the
Health and Social Services Delivery Improvement Act), the
notorious British Columbia law that eliminated job security
protection from signed collective agreements with health
and social service workers.
|
 |
|
NUPGE
Secretary-Treasurer Larry Brown |
The legislation, rammed
into law by the Liberal
government of Premier Gordon Campbell in November 2003, empowered health and social
service employers to “contract out” to non-union employers, exempted
new employers from terms of existing collective agreements and rewrote
layoff and bumping provisions in favour of employers.
Even severance
pay was unilaterally reduced
below even the standard provided for under provincial Employment
Standards legislation.
The British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU/NUPGE)
is one of several appellants in the case.
The National Union is asking to intervene to reinforce the case being put
forward by the BCGEU, and to provide the country's top court with a
national and international perspective related to the case.
“We have seen a steady erosion of respect for basic bargaining rights
at the provincial public sector level,” says
Larry Brown,
secretary-treasurer of the National Union.
Violating
international labour standards
Along with B.C., several other provinces have also introduced
similar types of anti-worker legislation.
"The Newfoundland government’s action last year in legislating an end
to a legal strike, and imposing the employer’s offer as the
settlement, is just the most recent example," Brown notes.
"We’ve seen this kind of legislative trampling of rights in such
provinces as Nova Scotia, P.E.I., Ontario and Saskatchewan, as well as several times in
B.C.
"Across the country we’ve seen freely negotiated collective agreements
rewritten again and again to reduce or freeze wages, or to achieve
other government objectives.
Bill 29 however went beyond that – it voided key provisions of
collective agreements that prevent contracting out of work, and
blatantly discriminated against health care employees by denying them
access to important statutory rights under provincial labour relations
legislation available to all other workers.”
"This kind of thing
– where employers pass
a new law with no other purpose than to impost their bargaining
position on employees – cannot happen except when the employer or the funder of the service is also the government," Brown says.
"We need to forcefully argue that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,
specifically the protections of freedom of association and equality of
treatment under the law, should stop governments from abusing their
power when dealing with their own employees.”
Sanctions by the
ILO
The National Union also intends to point out that Bill 29 was
found by the International Labour Organization (ILO), a specialized
agency of the United Nations, to have contravened the ILO’s Convention
# 87 - Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize.
This Convention was signed by Canada and all ten provinces in 1972 and
applies to all levels of government within the country – a decade
before Canada adopted the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 and therefore must be
considered as part of the intent of the Charter.
The National Union's submission to the court notes that Canada has
been continuously cited by the ILO for violating international
obligations it has agreed to uphold, especially related to the
treatment accorded to public sector employees and their unions.
In the last two and half years, the ILO has condemned nine labour laws
passed by the current B.C. government for trampling on the basic
rights of workers, the worst record of any government in North
America.
The National Union is being represented in the case by lawyers John
Brewin and David Wright. NUPGE
More information:
•
Supreme Court to hear B.C. case by early 2006
•
UN agency condemns violations by British Columbia Liberals
•
UN body slams Newfoundland and Labrador
government
Background materials
(B.C.)
•
The ILO's full decision on case #2324 against the B.C. government
pdf
•
The ILO's recommendations from case #2324 against the B.C. government
pdf
•
Summary of B.C. legislation restricting
collective bargaining and trade union rights
pdf
•
Statement by Ulf Edstrom of the ILO committee of freedom of
association
pdf
Background materials (Newfoundland)
•
Report of the ILO Governing Body 293rd Session (Paragraphs
399 to 407) pdf file
•
ILO Backgrounder - NUPGE pdf file
•
Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams must act on ILO ruling
Web posted by NUPGE:
5 October 2005
More
News
News Archive
Media releases
|
